12/23 – 12/24 Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

While I was at Immigration, Lisa and the girls got haircuts and bought some of the things we need but cannot get in Bontoc. As the time approached for us to catch a taxi to the bus terminal, I took some of the girls and claimed our luggage from the baggage claim at the department store. I am sure the clerk was annoyed with us clogging up his small storage area with our suitcases and boxes of seashells, but he did not say anything.

Because Lisa’s haircut took longer than expected, we were later than I had hoped to make it out of the mall for a taxi. In Baguio, when you leave the mall, there is a line of taxis and a line of people waiting for taxis. It is pretty well organized and goes smoothly. At SM Manila, they have a similar setup except for one thing: no taxis. The fences are in place, the signs are there, the shoppers are lined up, but most of the taxis change to another line and pass right by. We waited and waited and waited, the line did not move much. Pedicab and trike drivers would approach the line of people, trying to entice shoppers to use their services. A small horsedrawn carriage was even offered. I knew Adriana would love the horse option, but none of these options were big enough to carry all of us and our luggage the distance we needed quickly enough. I was a little nervous about separating from either the girls or the luggage – at night – in Manila. (Call me paranoid, if you like.)

I just kept praying. If you know me, you may know that I really hate to be late. Add to this the thought of missing our bus and getting stranded in Manila, and you can imagine what my state of mind may have been. But this time you would be wrong. Like I said, I kept praying. Something along the lines of, “Okay, God, you got us here. You took care of our visas and helped me obtain the cash I needed to secure them. You know where we are and the fix we will be in if we miss that bus. So please get us there in time.” I fought with everything I had against the urge to check the time. Other than that I was pretty calm about the whole thing.

In many places, you will find men hanging out. Often they are looking to make a few pesos by carrying bags, hailing a taxi, or offering notary services. The mall entrance was no exception. When we came out with all of our stuff, several were there wanting to help us move our bags from the door to the curb. Because of the setup of the taxi station (with so few taxis), they were not clamoring to hail a taxi for us. I had Lisa and the girls wait at the pickup point with our stuff while I went to the end of the line. Apparently, one guy was trying to convince Lisa to take a trike but Lisa explained the situation. As I am waiting in line, he walks up to me and asks if I want a taxi and points to one that seems to be following him. It felt a little odd that we were chosen from the middle of the line, but it worked for us to make the bus.

Just like on the trip from Bontoc to Manila, we took an overnight, direct bus. It is supposed to be a 12 hour trip but turned into about 14 before it was over. There were so many people, there were actually two buses making the trip caravan style. Because we were late getting to the terminal, we were not able to get adjacent seats. Each of us was able to sit next to a family member, but the pairs of us were spread out. Lisa and I were in the very back with all of the luggage. In fact, there was so much luggage that we had to walk on some just to get to our seat. Then during the ride I had to restack the tower behind us several times because it kept toppling over on the bouncy roads. At one point, I was laying across Lisa’s lap when a bag fell on top of me. Lisa gently said something to me about it in case I was sleeping. I told her I was well aware of it, but since it was not hurting me I would just leave it there until I was no longer comfortable in that position.

We were/are all glad to be home in Bontoc once again.

12/23 Calvinball –The Next Round

One of our purposes in travelling to Manila was to check the status of our long-term visas. (Calvinball is the game that never ends. If you don’t understand the Calvinball reference, refer to this post: Visually Insignificant Stationary Astroplane) When we were there in September, we were told we needed to personally return in 3 months to see if our visas had been released. We were not sure if the Immigration offices would be closed for the holidays and nobody seemed to know what the holiday schedule would be when we asked at that time.

Because our plane flew back into Manila early on Tuesday 12/22 and our bus did not leave until 8:30 that night, we hoped we could make a trip to Immigration during the day. Then we would need to figure out what to do the rest of the day.

We made arrangements with a fixed-rate taxi to take us to Immigration and wait for us so that we would not need to transport all of our luggage as we went in and out of the buildings. He told us that there would be no additional charge if we were less than 30 minutes. So when we arrived at the Immigration, we hurried in and found where we needed to be. On the way in we passed the crowd of men hanging around outside that offered their notary services. Who knows, maybe they really are legitimate…

On the upside, our visas had been approved. They had been completed in mid-November. On the down-side, we were not in the office on the right day. Apparently Mondays or Thursdays are when we are supposed to conduct such business. So on top of the huge (and unexpected) fees for the implementation of our visas, we would also need to pay for (get this) double express fee. All of the money we had paid so far was only for our visa application. We were unaware of the implementation fees and had no idea of the double express fee, so we did not have that much cash on us. (And to get a visa, they don’t take Visa – or American Express.)

So out we hurried, back to the taxi (23 minutes). Our plan was to go to the local mall so we could check our luggage at the baggage claim area of the department store, get lunch, and take care of some shopping needs while waiting to head to the bus stop in the evening.

While at the mall, I found that most of the ATMs were out of cash. Once they had enough, the transaction limit was much too small to for the amount I needed. There was a bank branch in the mall, but they could not do a cash advance.
By lunch time, Lisa and I were worn out. The fatigue from travelling and the stress we feel whenever we are in Manila, added to the aggravation of the visa situation, had us both feeling overwhelmed when we sat down for lunch. If a bus would have been leaving in the next hour, we would probably have been on it even without our visas.

That is when God’s grace poured down. Nothing miraculous happened. But I walked outside of the mall and saw a small bank across the street. They could not do a cash advance either, but their ATM had money and the limit was high enough that I could get the cash I needed in 4 withdrawals. I sent Lisa a text (did I mention that I had lost my phone hours before we left Bontoc and was borrowing the girls’ phone?) that I was heading to Immigration. I caught a trike and was at Immigration in short order. I walked right up to the first window and made it from one window to another to another without much waiting. I was a little worried when one clerk made me fill out a receipt form for our passports. I was expecting her to tell me to come back the next day like some offices did when we were extending our tourist visas. Instead she said to be back in an hour. By lurking outside her window, I was on my way back to the mall with stamped passports with a total time at Immigration of about an hour. I am so glad that God intervened in our spirits. Another round trip to Manila seemed worth it at the time, but we would have regretted it later when we actually had to do it.

12/22 Camsur Watersports Complex

A whole bunch of missionary kids

Monday morning we said good-bye to our hosts and tour guides, the Hagen family. (By the way, we have added a link to their blog under Connecting Links.) They were planning on staying another day at the resort. We needed to head back to Naga so we could catch our flight back to Manila early Tuesday morning.

The boat ride back was not as picturesque as the one to the resort. This time we did not have our own chartered ride, but took the scheduled boat back. We did not have to pay for Alayna and Annalise since they had to sit on our laps. It seemed quite overcrowded, but I am an American still thinking that capacity limits mean something. When one of the Filipino women started shouting at the crew about overloading as they kept taking on more passengers then I knew it wasn’t just my own opinion. It was a long and rolling ride back. The return trip took 2 ½ hours. (I suppose the same style of boat can’t move as fast when overloaded as when way under full capacity.)

We spent the night at Camsur Watersports Complex. We are not wake boarders and did not have our own equipment, but enjoyed watching people. They have a lake with a cable overhead that has several tow ropes attached to it. Holding on to the tow ropes; wake boarders are pulled around the lake and have the option of hitting a variety of ramps along the way. Some were really good doing back flips, twists, and other moves high in the air. Anyone who enjoys waterskiing would have a blast there. Evidently people from all over the world come to this place to train and compete.

While waiting for our meals at the restaurant, Annalise and Alayna asked if they could go run in the grass. While they did that, the rest of us watched the wake boarders do their stuff.

How good it is to have grass under your feet!

Tuesday morning we made our way back to the Naga airport. (Yes, the multi-tool and diabolical girls liquids like shampoo and conditioner were all checked appropriately.) Then we flew to Manila.

12/19 – 12/21 Gota Village

Early Friday morning we were on our way to the dock. Our family, the Hagens, and their assistant, Megan were all going for a weekend getaway at Gota Village Resort. Our family had decided that rather than exchanging gifts, we would use the opportunity of being near the beach as our family Christmas present.

When we reached the dock, the boat was waiting. Steve had made arrangements for a boat to take our families. You can drive to the resort, but it is over 5 hours through the mountains. The boat that follows the coast takes about 1.5 hours.

The boat ride was nice. At first, we were all getting soaked as we hit the waves and the spray splashed us all. But after a while, our direction changed and put the wind at a different angle and it became more comfortable.

Annalise was so funny. For a while, she was standing with one hand on Zach’s shoulder and the other on Ben’s head. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was singing for all she was worth, you would have thought she was praying a solemn blessing over them.

Ready to sail

One of the crew


Arriving in Guialo Port

The resort was terrific. Each family had our own log cabin. There were western bathrooms. (Yeah!) In fact, one of my favorite things about the whole trip was the shower. There was plenty of flow, pressure, and it was hot – all at the same time. Lisa and I had a bedroom and the girls shared the couch, a mat, and a plush rug on the floor. Thankfully there was a TV and DVD player, too. Saturday it rained all day so we checked out a video from the resort and played some games Lisa had thought to pack. (We finally gave up on waiting and headed for the beach in the rain.)

Waiting for the rain to stop

There were two beaches you could choose from. The first one you came to had lots of rocks, shells, and exploring potential. The other one was sandy and great for swimming. We spent a lot of time on both of them.

Alexie at the end of a boogie board run

Christmas sandman - no snow available

Lisa was really happy about our vacation plans because it also worked as a field trip for Garden of Grace Girls Academy. We often use the phrase, Life is school and school is life. This whole trip exemplified that principle. But it was especially true for the girls as they spent time on the beach. The girls are studying ocean life in science. So it was the perfect trip. During the day, as we played, we explored the rocks for shells or other discoveries. We ended up taking two boxes of shells home to investigate further and decorate our home. There were no exciting tide pools, but we did take note of the tides. At night we looked for hermit crabs and other crabs by flashlight. We had really been looking forward to snorkeling, but the weather had the water all stirred up. Once the water was calm enough, the clarity was still poor.

Annalise and Alayna exploring

A sample of the bounty

But the calmer water did give us another opportunity for adventure. Our entire group made our way across to a nearby island. Some of us swam, some lay on surf boards pushed by swimmers, and others kayaked. One very beautiful lady was kayaking a couple of her children across when a Filipino who worked at the resort paddled up on his surfboard and kindly asked, "Would it be okay if I was the one to paddle?" I guess he didn’t think that she was getting quite enough help from Alayna. She said thanks and he assisted her in paddling the rest of the way to the island. If that wasn't enough he went on to ask, "Is this your first time?" She answered, "Yes, this is my first time paddling a kayak although I have canoed." He wanted to know the difference so she explained that the way you paddle is different as the paddle is only on one end.

While the kids played on the small beach, I took that beautiful gal for a kayak trip around the island. It was really pretty. Although the sea was much calmer, the swells surged as they pushed between the islands and made entering that space a little exciting.

12/17 Binarioan, Poquey, and Centro

Mount Mayan - if you look closely, you can see the smoke coming from the volcano.

Sandwiched between the days of language learning, we accompanied the Hagens to the villages of Binarioan, Poquey, and Centro. The Hagens have a ministry in those villages. In order to get to the villages, we had to take a boat ride across a lake. It was a large lake with huts scattered over it. Apparently, they have pens in the water and raise tilapia. The huts provide a shelter for the men to sleep in to provide security during the night. The lake was smooth and the boat ride was pleasantly uneventful. (We were a little worried about it as we thought of the motion sickness during the bus ride.)

All Aboard!

Ben, Alayna, and Zach cruising the lake

It was exciting to see the church in each of these communities gather in houses and study the Bible together. So many of the things that come to mind with the word church were non-existent in this setting. They did not have a building, a choir, a youth program, a printed program or order of service. They did not even take up an offering. Instead, they read from the Bible and talked about what they read (as in group discussion, not one person saying everything and everyone else listening). First the story was read in Tagalog. Then restated in the local dialect becuase they don't have Bibles in their native language. Then they repeated the main points either by summary or by asking questions of people. Finally, they talked about what it meant and how what they read may apply to them. There was no dissection of the Greek or snappy power point. I loved when we went to Poquey. They did not have a scheduled worship time. Instead (I thought this was soooo cool) one of the believers had written a song in their own dialect and sang it for the group. They plan to all learn it so they can worship God together in their native tongue. Just the Bible and their own lives mixed together for a while so they could know God better and learn to live as His children.

View of the lake from Poquey

Don’t get me wrong, I am not against many of the things I mentioned above. They are good and useful. But as was discussed that day, having these things can take our time and resources away from the purpose we gather in the first place.

House church in Binarioan

Hiking from one village to another

While we were with Steve and Jen at the Bible studies, the kids played with the kids from the villages. They built shelters (the Americano kids must have come up with the idea of teepees though), climbed trees, and played in the stream.

Hanging out in the trees!

When we arrived at the location of the first Bible study, there were people gathered around a small shelter. In the shelter a lady and a man were taking turns stripping fibers from the bark of a tree. A machete had been arranged in a contraption that was tightened across the bark. Then the bark was pulled through it, leaving the operator with a length of coarse, blonde fibers. These were then draped over a line and dried in the sun. Adriana was interested in the process and asked if she could give it a try. We just slowed them down, but the people there got a laugh watching Adriana, then me, do our best at it. At least I had the advantage of a bit more weight in my backside than anyone there. I think everyone agreed it was best left to the experts.

By the time we made it to Centro for the Bible study, Annalise was wiped out. She actually stretched out on a dining table in the house we were at and tried to sleep instead of playing with the kids. But she was found out by the other kids so rest was not going to happen. In order to reduce the noise in the house, I grabbed my camera and went outside. (If you want to gather a crowd of kids taking their pictures and letting them see themselves on the display is a great way to do it.) They even had me record a movie of them singing a song. About that time, Lisa came out of the house and said that if I was going to make so much noise, I needed to move farther away from the house. (I guess bamboo and open windows don’t provide much of a sound barrier, who knew?)

Then it was time to go. For the trip back, some of the guys from the village gave us a ride. The lake was beautiful and we got to watch the sunset as we crossed.

12/16 – 12/18 Watch Your Language!

It was amazing how much quieter the night was at the Hagen’s home. We did not hear roosters crowing. (They don’t just crow at daybreak.) Their two dogs did not bark through the night like the countless strays that wander Bontoc. And best of all, we did not get treated to the ballads and shouts of drunks out on the street. I thought I was used to it, but in its absence I really enjoyed the quiet.

On Tuesday and Thursday Jen took us through a crash course on linguistics and language learning techniques. They do not know Ilocano but are fluent in Tagalog. Apparently, the structure and grammar of most of the Filipino languages is very similar. Regardless of that, their intent was not to teach us language, but techniques for learning language.

As part of the training we received, Jen gave a 15 minute demonstration of how a language lesson should look. On Wednesday we went to several villages with them where they are establishing churches (more on that later). While there, Lisa was listening as Steve asked one of the villagers a question for her. She was excited to see how she was able to pick out a couple words and have an idea of what the response was even before Steve told her.

Alexie and Adriana joined us for the first day of language learning. It was the part of the training that was most applicable to where they are at. Alexie was a little frustrated about some of the mechanics. She is probably most advanced of our family in learning Ilocano. In fact, our first night there, co-workers of Steve and Jen came over to meet us. They had worked for years in an Ilocano speaking area. When he asked Alexie to demonstrate some of her Ilocano, he was impressed by how well she had the pronunciation. She enjoys learning from her friends, but was not interested in learning about the linguistics associated with the language.

Another language related thing about our time with them in the village was that we had the opportunity to practice the techniques they taught us. There was a man there who knows Ilocano. With Jen there to help guide us, we were able to try the things she was teaching us. It was good practice. In my former career, we would have called it a training performance evaluation. We passed and are now qualified to try to learn Ilocano using the Hagen language learning method. Now we just need to do it.

Tom

Ilocano lesson in Centro, Bicol, Philippines

12/14 – 12/15 Travel to Bicol

We got a little backlogged with our blog. When we returned, it seemed there was so much to say that we set it aside until we could give it more attention. Now that our latest update is complete, we can turn our attention back to the blog. (We have over 12,000 picture files for the year, so it took a lot of work to sort through them for the letter.) If you did not receive our update and would like to, please send us an email and we will add you to our list.

We left Sunday, December 14, leaving on the bus to Manila. The Dramamine didn't kick in soon enough for Alexie and she spent the first hour of our 12 hour bus ride on the windy mountain roads vomiting. (Philippine traveling tip: Always have a plastic bag handy.) Alayna had a plastic bag ready, but did not end up needing it.

The bus leaves at 3 in the afternoon from Bontoc and arrives at 3 a.m. in Quezon City (Manila). It is a really long ride and by the time we arrived we were ready to not be in a seat for a little while. But there was not much time for rest. The bus terminal is a dark lot in the city – not the best place to hang out. Fortunately, we were able to get a taxi without much effort and made our way to the airport.

The airport adventure was relatively smooth. Traveling tip #2, although a multi-tool is incredibly valuable when traveling away from home, airport security will not let you carry it on the plane. Always tuck it into your checked luggage before trying to board. Okay, I was stupid and forgot about it. But Lisa’s smile got her past security with several shampoo, conditioner, and probably other diabolical girl liquids with just a comment of, “next time, these need to be in checked luggage.”

When we arrived in Naga, the Hagens were there to meet us. The kids were friends within minutes. In all there were 12 of us that packed into their vehicle and left the airport. They took us to this incredibly beautiful hot springs. The surroundings were gorgeous. They had a great setup with pools of various temperatures and depths. They even had one pool with a slide for the kids. On top of that, we were the only people there. It was the perfect way to unwind from our trip. In nearly every respect, where we now live is more remote and undeveloped than our home. Yet we spend less time in nature and most of our time is spent with concrete under our feet. This made the time at the hot springs that much more of a treat.

Alayna loving the water slide!

Adriana between pools.

Lisa and Annalise

Mikayla and Alexie

Alexie, Alayna, Mikayla, and Zach

In the afternoon, we went to their house and spent some time getting to know each other more. The kids loved having a yard with grass to run in. They enjoyed the swing outside. Inside, each of the kids, including me, had to give the climbing wall a try.

Zach (Prince Charming?) and Annalise

Alexie on the wall - how cool is that!
Steve reading the kids a Bible story before bedtime

It had been a good day, but we were ready to get to bed. Lisa and I both felt we had slept about as much on the 50 minute flight from Manila to Naga as we did on the 12 hour drive from Bontoc to Manila the night before.

Grace,

Tom